The Super Simple Guide to Common Fish Diseases

This is a nice book on pond and aquarium fish diseases. Lots of color photographs to help identify diseases, and suggestions for treatment. Written with a slight British flavor and point of view, it still gives a great deal of information. While not as in-depth as Untergasser's treatise on fish disease, it is a good first choice to look up your ailing fish's symptoms and treatment.

Part Two of this book (98 pages) describes in detail the many diseases that can afflict fish, their causes, and what to do about them. Illustrated with small but clear photos of the ailments, along with "Diagnostic Pointers" and "Treatment," this section will be useful for the hobbyist at all levels of their expertise. The final chapter of Part Two also addresses "Medicines, Sedation, and Euthanasia", and how to best quarantine a new or ailing fish, so as not to infect the rest of an established collection in your pond or aquarium. For the beginner, Part One (58 pages) has invaluable information, and is titled "Learning the Basics". The chapter on water quality is superb, with an excellent description of the "Nitrate Cycle", which includes the ammonia/nitrite content, potentially deadly if not kept in check by testing, and especially necessary during the first few months of starting up an aquarium, sometimes referred to as "new tank syndrome." I wish I had read this book before setting up my tank, as I would have been more wary of the soaring nitrate level that caused a little fantail to depart for goldfish heaven. Jepson writes at length about "The Five Freedoms" (developed by John Webster in 1995), which are 1: Freedom from thirst, hunger, and malnutrition. 2: Freedom from discomfort. 3: Freedom from pain, injury, and disease. 4: Freedom to express most normal behavior. 5: Freedom from fear and distress. These principles apply to all living creatures, but for the beginner fish hobbyist, how to provide them is sometimes a complex mystery, as one has to learn how to set up an "ecosystem" that is foreign to us. Veterinarian Jepson, who is a member of the British Veterinary Society among other prestigious affiliations, tells us how to achieve these goals for our finned friends, and writes in a succinct, no-nonsense style, and though the information is sometimes quite technical, it is always easy to understand.